NWD 9 Morocco Shoot with Bourdo, Barel and Boyko

Apr 9, 2008

Freeride Entertainment starts the filming season with a trip to Morocco. Filming for NWD 9 and the Rush HD behind the scenes of adventure sports filming TV show "Focused." Bourdo, Barel and Boyko mix old world culture with new school freeriding. Words by Robbie Bourdon and photos by Yorick Carroux // www.carroux.com and Robbie Bourdon.

The trip started in the city of Marrakech where we spent a couple of days just getting over the jetlag and organizing our crew. There was the boss Derek, Director Eric Crosland, head cinematographer Axl, HD camera Daryl Hackett, still photographer Yorick Carroux and our guide Dave. The riders were Ben Boyko, Fabien Barel and myself.


In Marrakech they had these huge markets with lizards and turtles in cages. I wasn’t sure if they were pets or for dinner. The markets were designed like huge mazes and the kids were paid to misguide you to the exits by sending you back into the middle.


We split up in two groups Derek, Crosland, Boyko, Dave and myself headed into the Wirgan valley located about 2 hours south of the city. The valley was the perfect landscape that we were looking for and in no time we were out in the field searching for jumps and lines. We spent a few days just hiking around, taking it all in and seeing what are options were.



Axl, Fabien, Hack and Yorick were off on their own adventure a couple of valleys over shooting fast single track. We spent a day building this line that Big D had scoped out, it started at the top of a mountain winding down to a vertical edge, that from the bottom looked not to bad and way shorter than from the top. I hadn’t been on my bike much yet so wasn’t feeling confident with the line so when the others showed up we let the master see what he thought. Fabien changed the entrance to the face and killed the line on his first try. Everyone was stoked and everything started to come together.


Ben and I found this line into a big natural pile of dirt that had a perfect lip and landing that didn’t need a lot of work. Not being not much of a dirt jumper I wasn’t super stoked on the line but what the hell, I’ll try anything. We hit it a couple times each then Ben did a 360.


So I hit it a couple of more times and thought, I can spin that. I ended up landing a flat spin. I was pretty happy with myself! In the same area where the road came into the valley there were all these old walls and I found a sweet hip with one in the background, it ended up being no to bad except the fact that my bike broke, bending the derailleur hanger and ripping the cage in half.


There were these rain runnels that looked cool so Ben built a hip over them. He landed a couple of bar spins and tables, with some effort, because the run-in was flat and soft dirt.


Fabs and I did some nice single track in this one village. We did multiple runs with and without helmet cam. There were lots of locals carrying huge loads of everything imaginable.


When we were shooting helmet cam and some other shots through the streets where there were dudes riding side saddle on donkeys with side bags full of big rocks, we almost hit a couple of them and we definitely scared a few kids.


Seeing how it was my second time to Morocco I felt more like a local so I bought one of the traditional outfits called a djellaba. Got this one custom fitted. Can’t wait to rock it back here in Nelson.

-Bourdo

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